Month: August 2024

Disruption in Creativity and Why Disregarding Discipline Matters

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Episode Three

Disruption in Creativity and Why Disregarding Discipline Matters

EPISODE THREE

Sailing Into Advertising on a Mini Pirate Ship

In this episode, Liana Dubois, Nine’s Chief Marketing Officer, is joined by Tara Mckenty, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Executive Creative Director BMF Australia, to talk about the importance of disregarding discipline, and how Tara’s unique perspective is shaping the future of advertising. Whether you’re a marketer, creative or simply curious, this episode is packed with insights that will inspire.

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Childhood influence

Tara McKenty, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Executive Creative Director at BMF Australia, thinks her disregard for convention and rules stems from her childhood.

However, her professional start in advertising also had a big impact. McKenty spoke to Nine CMO Liana Dubois on Talking Creativity, a special edition of Nine's podcast series exploring creative minds at the Advertising Council Australia's This Way Up Festival.

Any dangerous idea needs an advocate

“I was incredibly fortunate,” she said. “I started my career in the halls of TBWA, where disruption was the network's ethos where they chose to be the pirates and not the sailors or the Navy.

“So from day one entering the industry my training wheels were on a mini pirate ship. There’s a place for rules and process and a place for disruption.

“Dangerous ideas can be disruptive, they can change behaviours, they can innovate and change the way people consume media or experience brands.”

McKenty thinks the place for disruption is once the idea is solved - because any dangerous idea needs an advocate.

“Once you have that idea, and you know it's the idea. I think for me and other creatives you can't sleep at night until that's made.

No place for rules

“I think you could replace the word disruption with hustle. What do you do next as an advocate, the mother or the parent of that idea to get it out into the world?

“That's where I think there's no place for rules.”

A good idea will stand by itself, no matter the standing of the person who has that idea.

“Once you have an idea that can change so many things, or change people's lives, a big, chunky idea, that is enough to get anyone excited, no matter who they are, no matter what level they are, no matter how good they are at their craft, no matter how intimidating they are because of what they've done previously,” she said.

“That is a power of a good idea, and as you as a creative that idea is like, do everything humanly possible to get off the ground.”

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From Drunk Monkeys to Hall of Famers: A Rapid-Fire Reflection

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Episode TWO

From Drunk Monkeys to Hall of Famers: A Rapid-Fire Reflection

EPISODE TWO

The Three Drunk Monkeys On Sobering Up

In this episode, Liana Dubois, Nine’s Chief Marketing Officer, is joined by Justin Drape, co-founder, The Monkeys (now part of Accenture Song) and Exceptional ALIEN, and Scott Nowell, Co-Founder, The Monkeys (now part of Accenture Song), to explore the principles driving their success, the role of creativity in building resilient brands, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Whether you’re a marketing professional, a creative enthusiast, or curious about the power of advertising, this episode promises to inspire and challenge your thinking.

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The Monkeys

Did the Three Drunk Monkeys, which became the highly successful creative agency The Monkeys, ever really sober up?

“I’m not sure we’ve sobered up,” said co-founder Scott Nowell.

“We can’t really go out there with a name like that … it was different at the time and it seemed to work.”

Nowell and Justin Drape, who along with Mark Green, founded the agency in 2006, were interviewed by Liana Dubois, CMO at Nine, in Talking Creativity, a special edition of Nine's podcast series, exploring creative minds at the Advertising Council Australia's This Way Up Festival.

Nowell and Drape were this week inducted into the AWARD Hall of Fame during a ceremony as part of This Way Up.

Do things differently

“Everybody said we were mad,” Nowell said. “There were so many independents. The world doesn’t need any more advertising agencies.

“All you’ve got is your faith in what you’re going to do and how you're going to change things. We wanted to do things differently.”

Justin Drape’s father said, when he heard the name: “You’re a bunch of bloody Dreamers.”

However, Drape and Nowell really believed in what they were doing.

“We believed in each other,” said Drap.

“And there was a really great moment in the industry where clients were starting to be enabled by the Internet and could do longer format storytelling and experiments.

“We were at a place where we quite quickly got two TV series on air. When people were coming to us and saying, ‘Can you guys do anything beyond advertising,’ we were able to point them to watch those shows.”

Nurture abstract thinking

Nowell said the industry was undergoing a lot of change, whether via technology or the economy.

“There’s pressures everywhere,” he said. ”But what this industry does -- and it doesn’t matter if you call yourself an advertising agency or whatever you want to call yourself -- the power is in taking that abstract thinking and nurturing it and turning it into an idea that can affect the bottom lines of these billion dollar brands.

“And that's where the power lies in our industry and no matter what … that will always be true.”

What is best for the team

Drape said don’t assume the people you work with get the idea and think it’s amazing.

“What’s the goal there? What's the objective for the team? What does the account manager or marketing manager want out of that?

“Think about the budget considerations. Everybody has their own movie playing in their head about what the best outcome is going to be.

"Try and understand that when you’re sitting there and don’t just be arrogant and walk in … ‘this is going to be amazing. It’s going to win a war’.”

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The Creative Mandate: Why Playing It Safe Is Risky Business

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Episode One

The Creative Mandate: Why Playing It Safe Is Risky Business

EPISODE ONE

Mandie Van Der Merwe On The Mistake Companies Make With Creativity

In this episode, Liana Dubois, Nine’s Chief Marketing Officer, is joined by Mandie van der Merwe, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, to explore why creativity is now a business imperative. They discuss the risks of playing it safe in today's fast-paced market and how embracing bold, creative strategies can drive significant business success. Discover how creativity not only sets brands apart but also becomes a critical lever for growth and innovation in an ever-evolving landscape.

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Creativity highly valued

Creativity, a trait now highly valued in the corporate world, is often mistaken for something that can be taught.

Mandie van der Merwe, joint Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi and Saatchi Australia and AWARD chair, sees creativity as more a behaviour.

“There's this idea that you can teach people creativity, I'm sorry to say, but you can't,” she said

She was speaking to Liana Dubois, Chief Marketing Officer at Nine Entertainment, on Talking Creativity, a special edition of Nine's podcast series at the This Way Up event by the Australasian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD).

A recruitment tool

Dubois said a few recent surveys highlighted that creativity is now one of the most sought after skills among employers.

“Why do you think there's such high demand for creativity in the workforce today, and how can organisations better cultivate and harness creative talent to really maintain their competitive edge?” she asked van der Merwe

“Creativity is a behaviour,” said van der Merwe. “It's something that you decide to do every day by challenging convention and questioning why some people are just naturally wired that way.

“But if you aren't, you need to practise being uncomfortable and adopting a creative mindset.

“Now, this is important because employers often think that they need to find creative talent to maintain their competitive edge, as you've said, and then harness and cultivate them.

“I always laugh. It's like ‘quick go out there, capture the creative thinkers’. It all sounds really good in theory, but they won't stay.

“They will recognise that they are being used, much like you would use a tool or research. Creative people like to feel that they're part of a community, that they are being pushed and that they are being challenged.

“So if you really want a creative workforce, I say start with yourself. If you become more creative yourself, or at least attempt to start questioning that status quo, you will attract and retain other creative people, and then you will find that creativity not only becomes a recruitment tool, but it becomes a reason that people stay and that your business grows and that what you put out into the world evolves.”

Nine Dubois said creativity was a key differentiator for businesses.

Strategic necessity

“How do you perceive creativity playing a role in really setting brands apart? And why has it become, in your mind, a strategic necessity, rather than just a nice to have the?”

van der Merwe at Saatchi and Saatchi said creativity is absolutely a strategic necessity but most people really do think of it as a risk.

“And that in itself is kind of the riskiest thing. I'd say it's not a nice to have,” she said.

“You should double down on creativity because creativity is all about finding new ways to explain your brand, your offering, and to own a special place in consumers’ hearts.

“If brands really want to survive and excel, the only way for them to do it is by embracing creativity and newness. And it's really the newness that creativity brings.”

Problem solver

In tough economic times brands tend to pull back on marketing spend.

“And markets may change rapidly,” she said. “I always joke, it's been changing for as long as I've been in the industry. The one thing that remains is how creativity becomes a multiplier for brands when it's truly embraced.

“So sure, there's always going to be change, but creativity is the one constant that can give you that edge.”

van der Merwe urged brands not to turn their backs on the one thing that's your differentiator when times are tough.

“Creativity is not just a differentiator, but it's also actually a way of solving problems that others can't solve,” she said.

“And we find ourselves in a moment in time where there's a very interesting problem. So embrace creativity.”

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Consumer Pulse Sport July 2024

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WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT

July 2024

Consumer Pulse – Sport surveys around 2,000 national respondents spanning Nine’s TV, digital, print and talk radio audiences.

The monthly survey covers attitudes and behaviours towards viewing sports and the influence of sport on Australian culture.

fans of Australia during the Men's Water polo Group B match between Australia and Serbia on Day 4 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

19-22 July, 2024

Inside this month’s Consumer Pulse – Sport dip

Friends watching sports on big screen in backyard. Drinking beer and cheering.

Consumer Insights >

French flag in the summer of the Paris 2024 Olympic games, Eiffel tower in Paris, France, panoramic background

CONVERSATION STARTERS >

19-22 July, 2024

Consumer Insights

Content platforms Nine audiences are engaging with for sport

Over 8 in 10 of Nine’s audiences (85%) engaged with sports, sports personalities/athletes or sports-related content in the past week. Watching on free-to-air TV was the most common platform to access sports content and has seen the largest growth from the previous month (from 57% to 62%). Watching/reading content online or on news websites/apps was also popular with around 2 in 5 of Nine’s audience.

Time spent engaging with sports

Among those who engaged with sports in the past week, participating in sports and watching on pay TV/streaming services had the highest time spent, with an average of 3 hrs and 20 min (200 total minutes). Attending a live sporting event ranked third (2 hrs, 39 min), followed by watching on free-to-air TV (2 hrs, 18 min).

Sports impact on mood

Engaging with sports or sport-related content had an overall positive impact on Nine’s audiences last week, with a net emotion score of 62% (stable from the previous month). The Top 10 emotions were all positive, with entertained, excited, and informed seeing the largest increases from June.

Conversation Starters

Olympic Games excitement

Of Nine's audience spontaneously named the Olympic/Paralympic Games when asked if they were aware of any sporting events taking place in the next four weeks

The rising excitement for the Olympic Games Paris 2024

Awareness was at an all-time high as Australians eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 a week before it commenced. When we asked Nine audiences if they were aware of any sporting events taking place in the next four weeks, over 9 in 10 spontaneously named the Olympic/Paralympic Games (up from 60% in February). Overall, 7 in 10 were excited by the Olympics and were equally interested in staying up to date with the Games (peaking with 18-35-year-olds, 77%).

BRAND CONSIDERATIONS

Real-time updates of the Games with live scores, athlete interviews, and interactive polls will keep audiences engaged. Ensure all digital content is mobile-friendly to cater to younger audiences who follow updates on smartphones.

Young Asian woman using a smartphone as she waits for a tram in Melbourne CBD.

Most Anticipated Olympic Game sport/athlete

Top 10 sports and athletes Nine audiences' were looking forward to watching during Paris 2024

Top 10 Sports
1Swimming (indoor pool / marathon)
2Athletics
3Gymnastics
4Diving
5Rowing
6Cycling - Track
7Football (soccer)
8Basketball
9Tennis
10Hockey
Top 10 Athletes
1Jessica Fox (Australian canoeist)
2Ariarne Titmus (Australian swimmer)
3Kaylee McKeown (Australian swimmer)
4Alex De Minaur (Australian tennis player)
5Mollie O'Callaghan (Australian swimmer)
6Peter Bol (Australian runner)
7Emma McKeon (Australian swimmer)
8Simone Biles (American gymnast)
9Min Woo Lee (Australian golfer)
10Kyle Chalmers (Australian swimmer)
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 29: Silver Medalist Ariarne Titmus and Gold Medalist Mollie O’Callaghan of Team Australia celebrates after the Medal Ceremony for the Women's 200m Freestyle Final on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Paris La Defense Arena on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Brand Considerations

Provide behind-the-scenes access and exclusive content related to the top sports and athletes to create a sense of exclusivity and reward loyal viewers. Identify up-and-coming athletes to partner with can build long term brand affinity and a high potential ROI.

Olympics Viewing

plan to watch the Olympic Games live on Channel 9

Despite the time difference between Australia and France, 8 in 10 of Nine’s audiences planned to watch the broadcast live on Channel 9. Close to 9 in 10 planned to watch highlights the following day (88%), while a third were keen to read news articles (38%) or listen to news updates on the radio (35%). Under 35-year-olds were 2.5 times more likely to catch up via short highlights on social media while the 35-44s were 1.5 times more likely to watch via 9Now.

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Brand Considerations

A multichannel campaign that extends across Nine's cross platform ecosystem will ensure your message is reached by 98% of Australia, 24/7. Develop shareable content such as athlete spotlights and key moments to increase engagement and further your reach. 2024 is only just the beginning of a decade long opportunity your brand can't afford to miss.

Source: Nine’s Consumer Pulse - Sports Edition, July 2024 (n=2,199). Nine total content ecosystem reaches between 90-93% of ALL Australians each month. Nine total media 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games content platform, including the Road2Paris based on previous major events insights will see that reach increase between 5-8 points across a combined audience of Nines Total TV, Total Audio and Total Publishing, including significant additional signed on 9Now users. (Roy Morgan) 

 

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